Shrubb chosen as top Olympic sailing official

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Bermuda’s Peter Shrubb has been appointed as deputy chief umpire of the women’s match racing umpiring team for the 2012 Olympic Games

The ISAF international sailing umpire/judge departs today for the Olympic sailing venue in Weymouth, England where he has been tasked with fulfilling a number of duties.

He will handle umpire scheduling, assist with the liaison between the race and organising committees and help with post-race debriefings involving competitors and coaches.

The past Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) commodore was selected from a pool of over 120 sailing umpires and judges worldwide.

While in Weymouth he will be among an umpiring team of ten judges who will preside over women’s match race sailing in the Elliott 6 Metre which is the only match racing event featured on the sailing schedule.

This year marks the first time women’s match race sailing has been held at the Olympics.

Speaking on his appointment as deputy chief umpire, Shrubb said: “It’s a pretty prestigious position to be in and I am pretty pleased to be appointed to that post.

“It should be an amazing experience and it’s nice to be able to give back to the sport and be recognised in this way. I’m not sure if a Bermudian has ever been involved in officiating at the Olympics, but I’m pretty pleased to be there.

“I thought I was really lucky to officiate in the Americas Cup in 2007 (Valencia, Spain). But this is just another step and I’m pleased with this one as well.”

Shrubb was in Weymouth last May where he served as chief umpire at the Sail for Gold Regatta and more recently fulfilled the same duties at the Women’s World Match Racing Championships in Sweden.

“That was good training in the lead-up to the Olympics because I got to work with the rest of the team which is very healthy and good,” said Shrubb, who has also previously served on the jury of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Flying Bermuda’s banner in the 49er skiff at the upcoming Games are brothers Jesse and Zander Kirkland, the first local sailors to compete at this level since 2004.

“I think it’s special that the Kirkland brothers are competing at the Olympics and obviously I’m going to be keeping an eye on them up there,” Shrubb said. “We have given them all the best wishes and hopefully they do really well.

“I will probably be seeing them on a daily basis because we are all sailing out of the same venue.”

The Kirklands qualified for the Olympics after producing a top ten finish at last May’s 49er World Championships in Croatia.

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